My guests this week are Brian Lowen, back from holiday and Maggie Perkovic. Books being reviewed are Nothing to Lose by Lee Child, Penguins Stop Play by Harry Thompson
Q & A (Slumdog Millionaire) by Vikas Swarup, The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters and at last, a review I've been waiting to do for months, Martina Cole's 'Close'.
Maggie hope you had a lovely Mothers day. I had a wonderful, relaxing, last minute 2 night break at St Michaels Hotel in Falmouth. We had an amazing suite, lounge, huge bathroom, and a sea view over the Lizard peninsular. I have to add that the staff were lovely and friendly too.
Hope everyone has recovered from their celebrations of St Patricks Day, happy birthday for yesterday Debbie Blewitt.
Q & A (Slumdog Millionaire) by Vikas Swarup I have to say Maggie I haven’t read the book but I watched the film which I thought was very clever. One reviewer said: Great Movie, Even Better Book. Have there been any films which were better than the books they were based on? anybody have any nominations for that?
Penguins Stopped Play by Harry Thompson, wondering what you thought of this one Biran. I read some excerpts of this last year and found it really funny and I am not a cricket fan! I actually found this book in January this year in a charity shop near my mums. I bought it for my brother who doesn’t read but likes cricket – I must ask him if he read it as I told him it was funny.
Showing posts sorted by date for query Martina Cole. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query Martina Cole. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Thursday, 28 January 2010
Martina Cole – Close
Martina Cole – Close
Violent with obscene language (think Malcolm may like it!!!)It begins in present day London with Lil Brodie on her death bed, dying of cancer, with her children around her. Her mind is still strong and as she looks at her children we are taken back in time to the beginning.
It’s the 1960’s and in London crime rules. One crime lord and his cronies rule the roost until another violently takes him out. The Brodies, Pat Brodie, is the next contender. But hard as Pat is he takes a fancy to Lil. Lil has had a hard, unloving upbringing, her Pat takes her out of that life, and raises her status. Lil rules the home taking care of her man and her 5 kids, helped by her leech of a mum who never loved her as a child but just latches on for the prestige it brings. But one child, Lance, bothers Lil, she can’t take to him. Lils mum loves Lance with a passion, she realizes what loving a child should have been like and spoils Lance with a blind love. Lil cannot love him, can’t bear him near her, in fact everyone who meet him say he is strange, cold and aloof. Her twin daughters also give her cause for concern as one is very quiet and withdrawn
When Lil’s husband Pat is brutally murdered in front of his family, their comfortable life is threatened as another steals the throne. Lil does what she has to, to protect her family, even though it involves being used by the man who orchestrated her husbands death.
Lil’s eldest son, Pat Brodie junior, turns out to be a chip off the old block but with a strong taste for revenge. With the help of Lance they take back what belonged to their family and Pat junior now wears the crown.
It’s a family saga of death, life, power and love. Its like ‘The Krey brothers’. It spans 40 years of the London criminal world in all its violence.
It is 500 pages but had she not kept repeating herself it may have only been 400. I was engrossed in it but the repetition got on my nerves after half way. I read time and again how Annie never loved her daughter Lil, that Lance was weird & how Lil felt about him….I KNOW YOU’VE TOLD ME 50 TIMES!
I think all who read it would have guessed what was happening with Lance and his sister, it was so obvious, so maybe we were supposed to??
So, if you like your books shocking and violent, if you liked the film ‘The Kreys’ you will enjoy reading this book.
Violent with obscene language (think Malcolm may like it!!!)It begins in present day London with Lil Brodie on her death bed, dying of cancer, with her children around her. Her mind is still strong and as she looks at her children we are taken back in time to the beginning.
It’s the 1960’s and in London crime rules. One crime lord and his cronies rule the roost until another violently takes him out. The Brodies, Pat Brodie, is the next contender. But hard as Pat is he takes a fancy to Lil. Lil has had a hard, unloving upbringing, her Pat takes her out of that life, and raises her status. Lil rules the home taking care of her man and her 5 kids, helped by her leech of a mum who never loved her as a child but just latches on for the prestige it brings. But one child, Lance, bothers Lil, she can’t take to him. Lils mum loves Lance with a passion, she realizes what loving a child should have been like and spoils Lance with a blind love. Lil cannot love him, can’t bear him near her, in fact everyone who meet him say he is strange, cold and aloof. Her twin daughters also give her cause for concern as one is very quiet and withdrawn
When Lil’s husband Pat is brutally murdered in front of his family, their comfortable life is threatened as another steals the throne. Lil does what she has to, to protect her family, even though it involves being used by the man who orchestrated her husbands death.
Lil’s eldest son, Pat Brodie junior, turns out to be a chip off the old block but with a strong taste for revenge. With the help of Lance they take back what belonged to their family and Pat junior now wears the crown.
It’s a family saga of death, life, power and love. Its like ‘The Krey brothers’. It spans 40 years of the London criminal world in all its violence.
It is 500 pages but had she not kept repeating herself it may have only been 400. I was engrossed in it but the repetition got on my nerves after half way. I read time and again how Annie never loved her daughter Lil, that Lance was weird & how Lil felt about him….I KNOW YOU’VE TOLD ME 50 TIMES!
I think all who read it would have guessed what was happening with Lance and his sister, it was so obvious, so maybe we were supposed to??
So, if you like your books shocking and violent, if you liked the film ‘The Kreys’ you will enjoy reading this book.
Saturday, 19 December 2009
Tess Gerritsen - Never Say Die
Review by showhost
I have never read a book by this author before but was guided by what was written on the cover: 'Its scary just how good Tess Gerritsen is....' statement by Harlan Coben. So, gotta be a good thriller then I thought.........hmmm, how wrong can we be.
Well less than halfway through this book and I am thinking 'am I reading a crime thriller or a Mills & Boon!?’.
So, whats the story about? Well, its a bout a girl called Willy Maitland who goes looking for her father, Wild Bill. He was flying planes in Southeast Asia around the time of the Vietnam war(1970)but his plane crashes and he is presumed dead. Twenty years later Willy's mum is dying of cancer. Willy decides she has to go looking for her father to find out if he really died, as they had an anonymous tip off from a friend of her fathers that he was still alive. They also never recovered his body.
She has a meeting in Bangkok with a General Kistner to find out as much information as she can about where the plane went down and who may be able to help her find some answers. The General tells her very little but to go home.
Guy Barnard (ex army turned mercenary), is also meeting with General Kistner, on official business so when Willies' driver leaves her stranded Guy offers her a lift. They discover they are both leaving for Saigon in two days time.
Somebody does not want Willie uncovering the events of her fathers disappearance and when an attempt is made on her life she doesn't know who to trust or turn to. The obvious choice is the self-assured, arrogant but handsome Guy Barnard - of course.
They find themselves under threat and under fire as they both look for the same man!
I took this book away to the mainland with me, along with the 'Secret Life of Bees', two completely different style of books.
I thought this one was going to be a Martina Cole kind of crime thriller, but wasn't. There are some murders in it but then the Mills & Boon bit comes in (dear me!). Let me quote you two examples:
"Willy, I'm right here....I won't let you fall, I swear it. Come on, sweetheart. Just reach for my hand". She looked across at Guy's face, tense and gleaming with sweat. At his hand, reaching for her. And in that instant she knew, without a shred of doubt, that he would catch her. That she could trust him with her life.........
"I've got you!" he yelled as he swept her into his arms, away from the yawning vent.
Guy hauled her into his arms and kissed her hard on the mouth.
"What was that for?" she demanded, pulling back in surprise.
"That," he whispered "was pure instinct"
"Do you always follow your instincts?"
"Whenever I can get away with it"
"And you really think I'll let you get away with it?"
In answer, he gripped her hair, trapping her head against the sacks and kissed her again, longer, deeper. Pleasure leaped through her, a desire so sudden, so fierce, it left her voiceless.
"I think" he murmured, "you want it as much as I do".
With a gasp of outrage, she shoved him onto his back and climbed on top of him, pinning him beneath her. "Guy Barnard, you miserable jerk, I'm going to give you what you deserve".
He laughed "Are you now?"
"Yes, I am".
There are many, many more of these I could quote but I won't bore you.
Its an easy read with a couple of thriller bits in it.
Looking at other reviews they say her books after this are better.....Some reviews:
'Where's the paint to watch dry?'
'Not as good as her current writing'
'Barabara Cartland writes Frederick Forsyth' (this reviewer nailed it!)
I have never read a book by this author before but was guided by what was written on the cover: 'Its scary just how good Tess Gerritsen is....' statement by Harlan Coben. So, gotta be a good thriller then I thought.........hmmm, how wrong can we be.
Well less than halfway through this book and I am thinking 'am I reading a crime thriller or a Mills & Boon!?’.
So, whats the story about? Well, its a bout a girl called Willy Maitland who goes looking for her father, Wild Bill. He was flying planes in Southeast Asia around the time of the Vietnam war(1970)but his plane crashes and he is presumed dead. Twenty years later Willy's mum is dying of cancer. Willy decides she has to go looking for her father to find out if he really died, as they had an anonymous tip off from a friend of her fathers that he was still alive. They also never recovered his body.
She has a meeting in Bangkok with a General Kistner to find out as much information as she can about where the plane went down and who may be able to help her find some answers. The General tells her very little but to go home.
Guy Barnard (ex army turned mercenary), is also meeting with General Kistner, on official business so when Willies' driver leaves her stranded Guy offers her a lift. They discover they are both leaving for Saigon in two days time.
Somebody does not want Willie uncovering the events of her fathers disappearance and when an attempt is made on her life she doesn't know who to trust or turn to. The obvious choice is the self-assured, arrogant but handsome Guy Barnard - of course.
They find themselves under threat and under fire as they both look for the same man!
I took this book away to the mainland with me, along with the 'Secret Life of Bees', two completely different style of books.
I thought this one was going to be a Martina Cole kind of crime thriller, but wasn't. There are some murders in it but then the Mills & Boon bit comes in (dear me!). Let me quote you two examples:
"Willy, I'm right here....I won't let you fall, I swear it. Come on, sweetheart. Just reach for my hand". She looked across at Guy's face, tense and gleaming with sweat. At his hand, reaching for her. And in that instant she knew, without a shred of doubt, that he would catch her. That she could trust him with her life.........
"I've got you!" he yelled as he swept her into his arms, away from the yawning vent.
Guy hauled her into his arms and kissed her hard on the mouth.
"What was that for?" she demanded, pulling back in surprise.
"That," he whispered "was pure instinct"
"Do you always follow your instincts?"
"Whenever I can get away with it"
"And you really think I'll let you get away with it?"
In answer, he gripped her hair, trapping her head against the sacks and kissed her again, longer, deeper. Pleasure leaped through her, a desire so sudden, so fierce, it left her voiceless.
"I think" he murmured, "you want it as much as I do".
With a gasp of outrage, she shoved him onto his back and climbed on top of him, pinning him beneath her. "Guy Barnard, you miserable jerk, I'm going to give you what you deserve".
He laughed "Are you now?"
"Yes, I am".
There are many, many more of these I could quote but I won't bore you.
Its an easy read with a couple of thriller bits in it.
Looking at other reviews they say her books after this are better.....Some reviews:
'Where's the paint to watch dry?'
'Not as good as her current writing'
'Barabara Cartland writes Frederick Forsyth' (this reviewer nailed it!)
Saturday, 7 November 2009
show 12th Nov
This was a different format show, I came out of the studio and hit the streets to ask people what they liked to read.
First stop was the local library where Ann Gurr was in charge for the morning. Ann likes reading 'easy' read books such as Belva Plain, Maisie Moscoe and Catherine Cookson.
In the library choosing books was Mrs Hitchings, she had a Val McDermid in her hands. She likes murders/thrillers such as the Val McDermid, Ian Rankin, Martina Cole.
As I was leaving Bob Seddon came in to return his Conn Igulden book. He likes historical novels, enjoyed reading Robert Harris's Pompeii(apologies as I said Richard on the recording), a book I have read and enjoyed - and he also enjoys reading books of the sea like Patrick O'Brian, Alexander Kent; I did mention Douglas Reeman but his books are modern naval action.
I moved on from the library to Bourdeaux's book shop on St Marys. Fortunately Sue Humphreys came in and couldn't wait to tell me about the Penny Vincenzi book she was reading, she loves it, can't wait to get back home to start reading it again (a sign of a good book!). She loves the way the author describes all the characters, life and situations they find themselves in. It is set in Britain in present time. As we looked along the shelves of books in Bourdeaux's, Sue picked out some of her other favourite authors like James Patterson, Wilbur Smith and also mentioned how funny 'Cathy Kelly' books are.
In the shop too was Veronica Maple who talked to me about the radio programme produced by Jeremy Vine - the best bedtime reads (were they voted for by parents or children age 3-7?), anyway top three were Paddington Bear, The Hungry Caterpiller and tops is The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson, so good tips for xmas presents.
I managed to get a few words out of Janice Nightingale, who manages the shop, she hasn't got time to read presently but would reach for a historical novel if she did.
Fortunately, I also got chance to interview three schoolgirls, Phoebe Kirkby, Jessica Kirk and Amy Bagnall about their favourite books. They all had different favourites but one they all liked was Twilight by Stephanie Meyer.
First stop was the local library where Ann Gurr was in charge for the morning. Ann likes reading 'easy' read books such as Belva Plain, Maisie Moscoe and Catherine Cookson.
In the library choosing books was Mrs Hitchings, she had a Val McDermid in her hands. She likes murders/thrillers such as the Val McDermid, Ian Rankin, Martina Cole.
As I was leaving Bob Seddon came in to return his Conn Igulden book. He likes historical novels, enjoyed reading Robert Harris's Pompeii(apologies as I said Richard on the recording), a book I have read and enjoyed - and he also enjoys reading books of the sea like Patrick O'Brian, Alexander Kent; I did mention Douglas Reeman but his books are modern naval action.
I moved on from the library to Bourdeaux's book shop on St Marys. Fortunately Sue Humphreys came in and couldn't wait to tell me about the Penny Vincenzi book she was reading, she loves it, can't wait to get back home to start reading it again (a sign of a good book!). She loves the way the author describes all the characters, life and situations they find themselves in. It is set in Britain in present time. As we looked along the shelves of books in Bourdeaux's, Sue picked out some of her other favourite authors like James Patterson, Wilbur Smith and also mentioned how funny 'Cathy Kelly' books are.
In the shop too was Veronica Maple who talked to me about the radio programme produced by Jeremy Vine - the best bedtime reads (were they voted for by parents or children age 3-7?), anyway top three were Paddington Bear, The Hungry Caterpiller and tops is The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson, so good tips for xmas presents.
I managed to get a few words out of Janice Nightingale, who manages the shop, she hasn't got time to read presently but would reach for a historical novel if she did.
Fortunately, I also got chance to interview three schoolgirls, Phoebe Kirkby, Jessica Kirk and Amy Bagnall about their favourite books. They all had different favourites but one they all liked was Twilight by Stephanie Meyer.
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